Here we go again…
The last time we heard these kinds of comments the Penguins went out and wasted a first round pick on Ryan Reaves. Nothing changed as far as the punishment Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin received. The only change was that the general manager turned his back on the formula that won his team back to back Stanley Cups.
I think the league does a terrible job calling the rule book for all players in the league. Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin suffer from this like other star players do. Although, neither of the two are innocent. Sure, longtime plug Michael Haley went at Sidney Crosby on Thursday, but Crosby was on the outside of a scrum throwing gloved punches at the side of another Sharks head. Maybe don’t do that. Evgeni Malkin is a target for abuse because he dishes out as much as he takes. He’s a quasi-dirty player and has been his entire career. You are going to invite abuse when you dish it out. Maybe don't do that.
It is likely that Olli Maatta is going to get the Patrick Kane treatment. This is when you chill out on LTIR until the playoffs start and the salary cap doesn’t matter anymore. This gives the Penguins an extra 4M to play around with. What can they do with that extra 4M?
One worry I have is the team will have their eyes on a player who is in decline, but perceived as tough. They'll get a good look at him tonight. The player is Wayne Simmonds. The Penguins still have their first round draft pick and Simmonds comes in at a sliver below 4M. A lot of people will say the Penguins and Flyers would never make a trade, but I don’t subscribe to that logic. The Flyers are run by Chuck Fletcher who used to be the an Assistant General Manager for the Pittsburgh Penguins. Simmonds is a pending UFA the Flyers are going to be departing with anyways. The Flyers would definitely take the Penguins first round pick for their rebuilding/retooling efforts. If Jim Rutherford is back on this toughness train then Simmonds is exactly the kind of player he would look at. The problem is Wayne Simmonds isn’t very good anymore.
He shoots quite a bit, but he doesn’t do much else. A game score average of 37 is right in the neighborhood of Ryan Reave’s 35 for the 2016-19 sample
A player with a past pedigree of Simmonds known for toughness may be too much to resist for a Jim Rutherford still sitting on a first round pick.
Thanks for reading!
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